Chapter 67

• Leila
• Those words felt like a blunt knife, twisting in my chest. In my last life, I'd begged to hear him say something like that—craved his warmth, his care. But now, when I'd long since resolved to escape, his tenderness had become a suffocating chain. Every word of affection felt like a noose around my neck.
• When he left, silence finally returned to the room. I fumbled for my phone, hidden under the pillow, and when the screen lit up, thirty missed calls stared back at me—all from Darren. My heart tightened. I was about to call back when the phone rang again, "Darren" glowing on the screen, searing my eyes.